Pregnancy resulting from intracytoplasmic injection of spermatozoa from a frozen-thawed testicular biopsy specimen

Abstract

A testicular biopsy specimen was taken in connection with scrotal exploration of a healthy 35 year old man who had azoospermia. Bilateral severe scarring of unknown aetiology was found in the exploration, and no epididymal spermatozoa could be obtained. Spermatozoa from the fresh biopsy specimen were used for intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) on the same day. Two-embryo transfer resulted in biochemical pregnancy. The rest of the biopsy specimen was frozen as small pieces of tissue using glycerol as a cryoprotectant. ICSI was then performed with spermatozoa prepared from the frozen-thawed tissue. One embryo was obtained and transferred. The transfer resulted in pregnancy, and a living fetus was seen in ultrasound scans at the seventh and 16th weeks of pregnancy. It is possible to avoid repeated testicular biopsies by using cryopreservation of testicular tissue.